Bleeding Rose
by Hidden Luv
Summary: Sarah has been taken from her world of humans to work at a night club run by vampires, who knows what will happen.
1. Taken

Bleeding Rose

My story, isn't like other stories, my story takes place on the edges of reality, in a world that is either or greatest dreams, or our worst nightmares. My story is filled with blood, lies, hidden desires, and maybe a little bit of hate. My name is Sarah, and this is my story.

My parents, they were druggies, so caught up in debt they didn't know which way was up, I was 16. I was walking home one day when I saw him leaning against the side of a warehouse. It was December, and the sun was blocked by a heavy layer of dark grey clouds. What was different about him wasn't the fact that he looked like he was waiting for me, but the fact that it was easily twenty degrees and all he wore was a pair of black jeans and a light white turtleneck.

I froze where I was as he shrugged off of the wall and walked slowly over to me. When he was about five feet from me he stopped.

"Hey." He said, dazzling me with a perfectly white smile. He was by far the most beautiful person I had ever seen, he had ivory skin and wavy black hair down to his chin that hung perfectly into his crystal blue eyes. He was at least five inches taller than me and he had full lips that curved into that perfect smile.

"Hi." I muttered, trying to shake myself out of the shock of him. He held my eyes in his as he chuckled silently.

"Your name is Sarah right? I've been watching you." Now, besides the normal things that were wrong with that statement, here's what made it truly frightening. I live in New York, the likelihood of seeing a total stranger twice is slim to none, and now that I thought about it, I had seen this guy in crowds before, at least five times. I stepped back two steps and dropped my eyes from his.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I demanded cautiously, he laughed and his eyes hit mine again.

"My name? It's not important right now, you'll learn it soon enough, but I've come to give you a proposition."

"Fine what is it?" I snapped, irritated, pretending to be annoyed so I didn't have time to be scared.

"I own a…club that I think you will be perfect for." He began. "You won't have to go to school anymore, just stay with us." At this he ran his fingers through my hair, I jumped and pushed him away. He wasn't within touching distance a second ago, how'd he get there so fast?

"Thanks but no thanks." I bellowed, walking briskly away from him. He must have been nuts.

"You will join me; you have no choice in the matter!" He yelled as he slowly disappeared into the snowy mist.

* * *

I had no idea how serious he was.

I walked into the door of my home, if you could call the leaking shack a home, and all seemed the same. It smelled of smoke and beer mixed with the scent of violets from a glade plug-in in the corner.

"I'm home!" I called into the house, knowing exactly where my parents would be. I dumped my backpack on the kitchen table then walked into our bleak living room. There my parents were, sitting on the old maroon colored couch, and there he was in the neighbors' old wooden rocking chair, looking like he owned the place.

"Hello again." He teased, he had a cup of tea in his hand and he sipped it slowly. I glared at him then whipped around to look at my parents.

"What is _he_ doing here? I said with as much venom as I could put into my voice.

"He's here to get you." My father slurred.

"So get your things." He flashed his smile again but I didn't find it so charming or beautiful this time, in fact, I wanted to smack it off of his face.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I snapped cynically.

"Like I told you earlier," He sighed, standing up gracefully. "You would come with me one way or another, your parents needed the money and I needed you, perfect fit, don't you see?" I blinked in disbelief and then rage took over every other emotion, betrayal, hurt, and sadness.

"You sold me!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, my hands shaking, the knuckles turning whiter than I already was. "How could you! You're my parents!" Angry tears slid down my face as my mother gave me a reassuring smile.

"Don't be like that sweetie we…" Her sentence was lost into a quiet mumbled slur.

"What?" I retorted. "We what? Love you? Is that what you were going to say? I haven't been loved by you guys since I was born! And even then you probably don't remember because you were probably too high you god damn druggies!" I panted heavily as I shook the tears away, my hair falling into my eyes. The boy just stood there and watched as I argued with my parents, did I expect him to help? No, he got me into this. As my words still hung in the air I turned on my heels and marched to my room, holding back everything I still wanted to say and hear in return. I pulled out a bag and stuffed it full with everything I could get my hands on. When it was full to bursting I slung it over my shoulder, and there he was, standing in the doorway, acting like he was just taking me on a day trip.

"Ready?" He asked cheerfully.

"Define ready." I remarked as I stormed past him. He chuckled and caught up with my pace with no trouble at all. My parents hadn't moved from the couch. He opened the door and held it open for me; I sneered at him then looked at my parents, a reluctant expression on my face.

"Mom…Dad?" I whispered, this was my last chance. "I love you."

"Bye sweetie, have fun!" My mom waved cheerfully at me. I stared at my parents and the living room through the doorway, hoping to drill the vision into my memory, even if it isn't the most pleasant thing in the world.

"Are you coming?" He teased from behind me , still holding the doorknob.

"Do I have a choice?" I replied, still with as much hate as I could fit into a four word sentence.

"Not really, it was a rhetorical question." He stated, smiling widely. I walked out of the house and he shut the door behind us. I started walking at a brisk pace down the icy pavement, hoping that maybe he wouldn't catch up, but of course he did, he was in front of me walking backwards in no time at all.

"How'd you get there so fast?" I asked, wondering what was wrong with him.

"Didn't I tell you? I have super powers." He chuckled. Okay, I was fed up with this. I stopped in my tracks and plopped onto the sidewalk, he looked at me quizzically.

" I am not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on. You just take me from my home to work on some club I _have a right_ to know." I argued. He looked at me a moment longer like I was nuts, then he shrugged and kneeled on his heels in front of me, sighing he began.

"Alright, first off, my name is Tripp, and I'm not who you think I am."

"Oh really!" I interjected sarcastically. He looked at me resentfully and then continued.

"I own a club called Gothic Fusion, and we entertain the creatures of the night." He met my eyes while a smile played on the corner of his mouth. "Like me." Now I was lost. Great, parents have just sold me to a freaking, beautiful psycho. He thinks he's a 'creature of the night' great, perfect, just fabulous.

"What?" I blurted stupidly. "So…creatures of the night like…" I swallowed.

"Vampires yes."

"Arg! No freaking' way!" I stood up and did the 'this is freaking me out' fast walk down the alley. Next thing I know I'm slung over Tripp's shoulder as we headed back to a snow drift next to where I was sitting.

"Let me go! I am _not_ going to be on the menu for a bunch of freaky night-crawling blood suckers!" I kicked and hit him until he started to laugh hysterically.

"I'm a vampire, you can't beat me, so just get used to it and take it as it goes." He chuckled. He dropped me into the snow drift and sat down next to me. "Now cool off." He laughed lightly at his own pun.

"Damn." I swore as the cold snow started to soak through my jeans.

"Now they aren't going to eat you, they aren't allowed. They find their own food." I shivered at the thought. "You'll just be entertaining them." To me, that was just as bad, but I wanted to make sure that what I was thinking was correct.

"You mean you hired me to…" I was quiet and I trailed off. He looked at me, waiting for me to finish. I was going to have to say it wasn't I? "You know..." I waited longer, this was really uncomfortable. "Put file A into slot B?" At first, he didn't get it, he looked at me oddly then I guess the fact that I had turned bright red had made him realize I was talking about, then he laughed hysterically.

"It's not funny!" I smacked him in the arm but I had forgotten how fast he was, before I could blink he had my wrist and I was sitting in his lap, half in the snow. He adjusted me so I was sitting on him and he held me tight against his chest. He _was_ better then the wet snow but he was almost just as cold, not to mention the fact that he was harder than rock. I tried to stand up and wiggle out of his grasp but he was about a billion times stronger than me. I grunted as he chuckled into my hair.

"Why?" he breathed into my ear. "Do you want to?"

"No!" I objected loudly, my voice going up 2 octaves. I tried to stand up but he held me fast against him. He chuckled again and lingered against my neck.

"Hmmm…" He sighed. "You smell great, like roses." I went to yell at him but then I remember he could break me like a twig if he wanted to, so I snapped my mouth shut again. I tried to pry his hands off of my waist but it didn't work. He slide from the back of my neck to under my ear and he inhaled again, my heart accelerating.

"Get away." I managed to form the words into a low sigh, it's really hard to think when a vampire is hanging around your throat. He chuckled and I felt his breath on my skin.

"Make me." He taunted. Then I felt it, he broke the skin on my throat. My eyes widened and my brain started to shut down.

"Okay! No way! That is not okay!" I yelled as he fed on my blood, being drained by a vampire? Yeah, not so great. After about thirty seconds he let go of me and smiled.

"What the hell!" I screamed at him, I was still bleeding but it was very little. He licked his lips with a look of satisfaction on his face, I glared at him. "If I turn into a vampire I swear to God I'll…" He covered my mouth with his hand to make me shut up.

"You don't want the neighbors to hear, they'll call the cops."

"I don't give a damn if they call the cops!" I yelled into his hand, trying to pry it from my face.

"If you be quiet, I'll give you your face back." I went to protest but it wasn't getting me anywhere so I glared at him and waited quietly. He finally smiled and took his hand away. "You won't turn into a vampire, that's a total myth." He took a band aid out of his pocket and placed it over where he had bitten me.

"You don't want people to see that now do we?" He said with enough cheerfulness I wanted to puke.

"Okay…" I began slowly and with as much irritation as I could muster into a single word. "I'm cold, it's the middle of December. I've just been taken from my parents house by a vampire night club owner who's been stalking me, I've just been bitten and to top the whole damn thing off **I smell like roses!** Am I correct?" I panted, I think I just had my first nervous breakdown.

"Yes, I think you've basically covered it, but I lurk, I don't stalk." He smiled. I was tired of this, my eyes started to leak and my vision blurred, I whipped them off quickly and I sniffed. Tripp looked concerned, a whole new expression I hadn't seen before. He walked up to me and gently held me, me needing to be held, didn't protest.

"Are you ready to go home?" He asked. I let him lead me away as my brain thought otherwise.

"It's not a home, it's a prison."


	2. Gothic Fusion

The Gothic Fusion was like nothing I had ever seen before. Color changing lights made the club have its own pulse as people hid in dark corners doing things I really didn't need to know about. A stage was in the dead center of the club and at the time a man in his early twenty's was singing a hard rock song, their was no doubt he was a vampire since he was just as beautiful as Tripp.

I stared at the stage until a white strobe light flashed and blinded me, little dots lingering in front of my eyes. Tripp guided me through the crowded room to the back. The strobe lights had stopped, thank God, but the base could still be felt in the floor. A dim light hung from the ceiling as Tripp pulled me along, neither of us saying a word. When we reached a side door Tripp pulled out giant ring of keys, like what a janitor would use.

"This is your room." He stated as he thumbed through the keys, he finally found the right one and shoved it into the lock. I heard a click and the door swung open. I knew I was sharing it the minute I saw it. One side of the room was plain with an unmade bed and an oak dresser. The other side was almost hard to look at. The walls were covered in pictures guys that had to be vampires, each one looked alike and yet completely different, every picture had their own markings of her affections towards them (kiss marks, XO's written on them, and other phrases, the works). Clothes were spewing out of the dresser like a volcano had gone off inside of it and it was painted a bright purple color, like the color of lavender. Tubes, bottles, and containers were filled with a variety of cosmetics, half of them open. A face mirror was placed on the wall behind it and a heart was drawn in the corner with a red permanent marker. That's when I realized how truly terrible I looked.

My hip long blonde hair was tangled almost to the point of no return, my face was red and blotchy and my cheap mascara was running.

"Just great." I muttered as I tried to get off most of the make up that was running. I heard a loud shriek of a giggle and I whirled around to find a girl that matched the room perfectly. She was taller than me by at least four inches, which makes her 5'10", she had hair down below her shoulders that was dyed platinum blonde and then bubblegum pink from the ears down. She had rich grey eyes that were hidden behind layers and layers of eye make up and crème colored skin that any girl would envy, not to mention the full, pouty lips that were painted a cherry red. The girl wore a short dress that was one shouldered and bright canary yellow. I noticed a red heart on what I hoped was just the back of her thigh. She would have been insanely beautiful if she hadn't had on about three pounds of crème on her face. She looked me over as I looked over her, exact opposites.

She walked past me briskly and shook her head at Tripp.

"She needs a make-over." She said finally. Her voice matched her hair, light, bouncy, and loud. I frowned at her as she continued her inspection.

"You wouldn't be so perfect either if you had just been taken from your parents house to work at some vampire club!" I snapped at her. She rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't know, but you'll get used to it here, I did! Now who are you exactly?"

"Sarah, who's asking?" I retorted, I already wanted to pop her head off. This arrangement? Yeah, it wasn't going to work out too well. She leaned forward and gestured to herself.

"My name's Candi Razzer, _main_ performer here." She smirked at me as I analyzed the impossibly short hem of her dress; only one career came to mind.

"What do you do…strip tease?" I joked, her eyes widened and she gasped.

"Have you seen my show already?" It took all of my will power _not_ to break put into hysterical laughter, I had just taken a wild guess.

"No…I'm afraid I haven't." She pouted then directed her attention back to Tripp.

"What's her talent?" Candi asked him.

"What?" I, again, blurted stupidly.

"She can dance."

"What?" I asked again.

"What _kind _of dance?" Candi warned.

"Tango." Tripp smirked.

"What?!" I screamed at him.

"Well as long as she doesn't overshadow me then I'm good."

"What the hell!" I smacked Tripp's arm and again I was caught by him, stupid reflexes, but this time he held me off the floor a few inches.

"You're going to Tango." He apparently and unfortunately knew about my dance classes. Since I had started high school an instructor there had been teaching me the tango and a fan dance in exchange for cleaning up the dance studio (which was why I was heading home after dark). Loving to dance, I had picked up the style of it easily, but performing it was a totally different issue. I squeaked in fear.

"You'll do fine." Tripp reassured me; I glared at him through a curtain of hair.

"That's not what I'm worried about," I began, even though that was a big part of it. "I'm worried about who I'm dancing with." I remembered all of the people in the club and how many of them were dancing, how graceful their movements were, they scared the crap out of me.

"You're dancing with me, and you're going to be doing a fan dance as well." Damn, of course he probably thinks it's some sort of honor to dance with him or something.

"You any good?" I teased, I was still hanging onto my last shred of hope that he just might stink at this. Putting me down (finally!) he left the room to come back a few moments later with a small CD and a boom box. He set it up quickly and motioned to Candi to turn it on when he told her to, with a sigh, she agreed.

"You're going to make me dance? Now?" His icy blue eyes flickered with amusement as mine probably showed a mix of embarrassment and fear. He walked over to the middle of the room and stood there, holding his hand out for me. I rolled my eyes and took up his hands; one hand behind his neck, the other holding his hand, there was no way out of this anyway. The music started and it began simply, me stepping backwards as he stepped forwards. Then spinning me out, I let go of him and took my heavy jacket of, still to the rhythm, he wasn't going to beat me at this. I grabbed his hand again as he dipped my down, A low sweep in front and then we ended with him holding up my right leg and our faces impossibly close. When the music faded away I jumped away from him, whoever came up with the idea that tango should be a passionate dance, should be burned in Hell. Damn my love for this dance. He however smiled and nodded, satisfied. I realized I was still breathing normally; I had definitely won this battle.

"So…how would you rate that?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Not bad." I responded, flashing him my own smile. Shrugging, he sat on the unmade bed (which was definitely mine).

"So…to switch the subject, you're going to start with waitressing during the day and then tango at night, you're too edible for vampires." He looked at Candi who was still on the floor by the stereo. "Will you go get her uniform please?" He asked, more of an order than a question. She made aface and nodded, prancing out of the room. She came back with a plain black dress and a pair of netted high heels. I eyes them as she set them and the dress on the bed. The dress, looked hard to move in, the neck line went into a small 'v', not a huge dip, and it had short sleeves. "Go ahead and try it on." Tripp told me, I picked up the dress then looked back at Tripp, sitting contently on the bed.

"Do you mind?" I objected irritated, glowering at him.

"No…" He didn't move an inch.

"Go!" I yelled, pointing at the door. He chuckled as he left the room, shutting the door behind him, I ran to it and locked it, just I case.I quickly got into eth dress as Candi reapplied her already too heavy make up.

"That's your only dress so don't ruin it, and make sure you wash it on a normal basis." Candi advised arrogantly. I pulled the dress over my head and zipped up the back, smoothing it out. It was a little bit tight. The shoulders would be almost impossible to move in and the top seemed more suited for a sleeveless dress, the waist and the bottom were perfect though, the bottom flowed out slightly about mid-thigh length, perfect for tango. I sighed and unlocked the door.

"How's it fit?" Tripp asked, he had been leaning next to the door this whole time.

"It's tight in the sleeves." I tried to adjust them slightly but I didn't want to rip the fabric.

"we'll fix that later." Tripp said, dismissing them. "But how's the rest of the dress?"

"the rest of it is fine." I assured him. He went over to the dresser and found a long night shirt.

"Now get some sleep." He advised, throwing it at me. "Big day tomorrow." Walking out of the room he shut the door behind him. I changed into the night shirt, wondering what time it was. Finding some sheets in the dresser I made the bed as Candi went back out into the club. The sheets were comfy as I drifted off to sleep in a matter of minutes.


	3. Changes

I woke up screaming. I had the most terrible nightmare, or maybe the oddest dream. I dreamt I was taken from my home by a vampire with ice for eyes, he tried to turn me into a vampire and then took me to a club to tag team strip tango and…

Okay, maybe I was sort of dreaming my day yesterday but magnified by ten. My imagination hates me.

"Shut the hell up!" I heard Candi yell at me from her bed. Maybe there was a silver lining from that dream, the silver lining being that it pissed Candi off.

"Oh…I'm sorry, did I wake you?" I apologized falsely. I almost felt her glare in the darkness.

"Yeah, you did, just to let you know." She spat, rolling back over and dropping like a rock. I wasn't going to be able to sleep now anyway so I sighed and changed back into the black dress. Still not sure what time it was, I tip-toed into the hallway, it was so bright! Windows I hadn't seen last night lined the wall, sunlight pouring in; it was a bright sunny day. I kept walking until I heard voices inside one of the rooms, I pressed my ear to the door and the talking stopped immediately. Frowning at the door I pressed my tried listening harder, until the door opened and I tumbled through. Curiosity killed the cat.

"Hi." I squeaked, getting up off the floor. "I was just…uh…leaving." I went high tail it out of there when one of them stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Where are you going?" He asked, I remembered that voice. He was the rock singer from the night before, he had dark eyes that penetrated everything and strawberry blonde hair. The guy behind him on the other hand was definitely human. He was extremely muscular and at least six and a half feet tall. He had hazel eyes and a roman nose, but olive colored skin, he looked Italian.

"I'm just going back to my room now." I told him, nervously smiling.

"You work here?" The vampire asked me, he scanned around my neckline, and he must have seen my bite mark because his question was apparently answered.

"Want a tattoo?" the human asked, his voice was extremely deep, and I wondered what his job was here.

"Sorry, I'm underage." I joked as I tried to slip out the door.

"Nonsense!" He boomed, steering me farther into the room and pushed me into a chair. "Everyone who joins Gothic Fusion gets one." At this he shoved his sleeve back to reveal a skull on his shoulder; I looked at the vampire skeptically.

"Where's yours?" I demanded of him. He shed his jacket and pulled his shirt off, making me blush, to reveal a dragon on his chest, it was amazing, but it looked painful.

"Where do you want it?" The man asked again as the vampire put his shirt back on. I thought about it for a minute, like most teenagers, I have thought about what I would want as a tattoo, so I did know what I want, but now that I was faced with getting it. I'm not sure if I had the backbone.

"Um, a swirl, under my right eye…in black." I finally decided.

"I need you to draw it for me." He jumbled through a drawer and pulled out a pen and paper. I was no artist. I drew a makeshift eye as best I could then went slightly off the middle; I drew a hook and another hook, going in the opposite direction. I looked at it a second, wondering if I should just rip it to shreds and run for it, but I handed it to the man. Nodding, he started up the scary tattoo needle. I squeaked as he came towards me with it.

"Don't worry girly...it'll be done in a flash." He came a little closer and I flinched away, halfway getting out of the chair. The vampire came up from behind me and pushed me back into the chair and held me head, making me stay put as the other man started, It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It wasn't so bad that I wanted to get up and hit them, but it was bad enough that I wanted to yell 'what eth hell are you doing!?' at eth top of my lungs. When it was finally over the vampire let go and I jumped out of the chair-o-death. The human held up a mirror and I looked at the new addition to myself, it fit.

"You shouldn't have to wear a bandage; it's not that big; do you like it?" He lifted my chin to admire his work.

"I love it thank you!" I cried. I went to leave but he made a booming laugh and tightened me into a bear hug.

"I…can't…breath!" I gasped as he immediately put me down.

"Glad ya like it girly." He said, ruffling my hair. "I'm Joe." That fit. "And my buddy there is Alexander."

"Hello." He said, I had never noticed it before now, but he had a smooth French accent to his speech. Now that I really looked at him, he had the pale skin of a vampire along with the unnaturally beautiful features. He had light strawberry-blonde hair and dark eyes, very unlike Tripp. He kissed my hand and I looked at him oddly, wondering where the formality had come from. He smiled softly and backed up again.

"I'm Sarah, the new girl." I said with disgust.

"I can tell." Alexander noted, his eyes lingered at my neck. "The bite is fresh."

"Yeah, what was the point of that anyway?" I remarked irritated.

"Well, a few reasons," He began. "One, by biting you he made you his, no other vampire can bite you while you stay here at this club, you are, well, private property." That was one way of putting it that I wasn't thrilled over. "And two…" He sniffed the air. "You smell like roses."

"Agh!" I screamed half-heartedly, plopping back into the cursed chair. "That is it with vampires and roses?"

"Roses are very beautiful." Alexander complimented simply. That made me feel a little better, I smiled at him and went to leave the room.

"Bye." I called behind my shoulder at them.

I was back in my room before Candi woke up. I looked at her and laughed, drool was oozing out the side of her mouth. She must have heard me because she mumbled and sat up, eyes still closed. I ran to my bed and catapulted onto it before her eyes opened. She blinked and sniffed; when she spoke I remembered less vaguely why I disliked her.

"You need a makeover." She yawned, I made a face.

"No thanks." I declined, she however, smirked.

"No choice, Tripp told me too." She said in a sing-song tone of voice, I gave myself a mental reminder to beat his head in.

"Fine…" I mumbled. "But go easy on the makeup…please." I added as an after thought.

"Whatever." Candi agreed absently. She went through her many bags of cosmetics, looking at me, then back again. She finally brought over liquid liner, smoky black eye shadow, dark red nail polish, and a hair tie and brush.

"Now hold still." She ordered as she applied the gunk. It took her at least twenty minutes to do it, since she kept taking it off then doing something different. When she was finally satisfied, she started on the rat's nest that was my hair.

"Your hair tangles easily doesn't it?" She asked, I grunted an agreement.

"It's going to stay up then." The put it into a low ponytail then backed up to look at it. She made a face. She tilted her head this way and that while mumbling to herself for about a half a minute, then when I was almost ready to give up and leave she made an 'ah-ha!' sort of noise, snapping her fingers. She took my hair back down as she spoke to herself, telling her how perfect this was going to be. She did put my hair back into a ponytail, but on my left side she left a good portion of my hair down over my face.

"Perfect!" She squealed. She shuffled to her dresser and found a hand mirror. "I'm a genius." She stated, handing it to me. At first, I didn't know it was me. My eyes looked wider, bluer, the grey eye shadow bringing out every speck of the color to the surface. The black eyeliner matched the tattoo perfectly and the swirls were highlighted in a reddish tinge around it. My hair actually looked like hair should look, not like I had rubbed a balloon to it and tied it in there for a few days. The hair down covered my left eye; opposite the tattoo…I actually loved it.

For some odd reason, this made me realize something, the reason why I hadn't completely freaked out to the point that most people should, this club had saved me, an escape. My parents never cared for me; I never had much of anything because they didn't _do_ anything. I was the one who worked, I was the one who cleaned, and I was the one who acted like an adult. Tripp saved me; maybe I owed him something after all.

"Don't you go crying and smearing that that 'cuz I am _not_ redoing it." Whipping under my eye I found that it was wet, I smiled.

"I won't. Thanks, I love it." Candi looked at me oddly, wondering probably which wire in my brain had fizzed out. I chuckled silently and strutted out of the room, going to try out my new found freedom.


	4. Mistake

I went into the club and the lights and music were already thumping. The windows were painted black to block out all outside light, making the neon strobe the only source of light. It was empty compared to last night, only around thirty or fifty people were here. Last night had to be at least one hundred. I took a wild guess that vampires were our main customers. All of the people here were definitely human, and definitely different. They varied from old fat guys to emo teens skipping school and beyond. None of them looked that interesting. (Once you've hung out with vampires humans aren't really that spectacular), but I might as well get used to the crowd. Spotting the bar I slid onto one of the stools, leaning my back against the counter and scanned the crowd. These people apparently couldn't dance either. A gothic teen was sitting on one of the leather couches in a dark corner, where the strobe light could just silhouette his face; he just sat there rigidly straight, waiting. I sighed and moved to stand by him; after all, I was a waitress.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked sweetly, he slowly smiled at me as his eyes scanned me up and down; I would have kicked his ass right then and there, if I didn't work here. After he was done with his imitation of a check out scanner his lips curled into a smirk, he had lost interest in what he was looking at before, he tapped his now puckered lips.

"I'll have some sugar." Okay, worst pickup line ever.

"Sorry, that's not on the menu." I stated simply, my smile now gone. Apparently this guy was a very unfortunate person when it came to girls or he would have thought of something better then that.

"Then how about a little candy?" He chuckled.

"If that's all I'm leaving." I turned towards the stage area to sleep a little more when the little twerp grabbed my wrist.

"Where are you in a hurry to get to?" he cooed, I jerked my hand back but he held on tightly, he may be human, but I was still only a small girl.

"Let go!" I yelled at him, now starting to panic a little. I pulled my hand harder but instead of getting away he counterbalanced it and I landed right on top of him. He immediately held fast to my waist and started to kiss my neck, moving slowly to my shoulders.

"See, this isn't so bad." We whispered into my ear. An embarrassed and angry blush began to rise to my face but I forced it back down.

"Actually yes it is now let go or I'll…" I pulled in a gust of air and he started to mess with the zipper on my dress. I froze, I was only sixteen, and this wasn't happening, THIS WASN'T HAPPENING!!! My conscious mind was going on freeze mode and my logic was shutting down. He didn't know when to stop! When it was halfway unzipped, I started to scream. I cried and screamed as he told me to shut up, no way in hell man.

"Shut up Candi I paid for this!" He yelled back at me. He pushed me to lying on the couch as he held me in place as I continued to scream. Then it hit me, Candi what?

"I'm not…" He kissed me then, stopping my train of thought, my mind turned into pudding and I had no idea what was going on until someone swooped me up into one arm.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't rape me employees." Tripp snapped his words layered with ice. I opened my eyes to find the boy sprawled on the floor, Tripp had me held in one arm and my dress was unzipped in the back.

"Rape? I paid for that!" He said, defending himself from Tripp's wrath.

"You paid for a 'session' with Candi, this is Sarah, she doesn't fulfill your _urges_." Tripp sneered the last word. The boy, shrugging, sat back down on the couch like he hadn't just tried to violate me.

"Same difference." He sniffed, looking back off into space. Tripp inhaled deeply, obviously trying to calm down, when his eyes opened again, he was all professional.

"I think you better leave." He ordered.

"What? I haven't gotten what I paid for!" The boy argued, sitting up straighter.

"If it's _same difference_, yes you have, now leave."

"No way man, free country." He complained standing up to Tripp; he was around the same height. Tripp smirked then called for Alexander and my guess, another vampire, Jagger, under his breath. I could barely hear him, so how could they? But soon enough Alexander and the other vampire were standing behind Tripp in seconds, so the super speed wasn't just him.

"What is it Tripp?" Alexander asked calmly. Tripp inclined his head towards the boy in front of us and smiled, I did not like that smile. Alex and Jagger nodded, directing their attention towards the kid they each grabbed an arm, lifted him off eth ground and walked him out the double doors.

Tripp carried me, still in one arm into the back where we would be out of the gazes of the many human eyes. He putted me down and I hastily zipped my dress.

"You are never working the day shift again." He stated. "I guess you're just too edible for both species."

"Thanks." I drawled sarcastically. "What about Alex and Jagger, aren't they going to fry in the sun?" Tripp burst into laughter, looking at my irritated face; he lowered it to a hefty chuckle.

"That's a myth; yes we are a little sensitive to it, but all that really happens is we become a little…sparkly." I didn't feel like asking what he meant by that statement.

"So…basically I'm going to be nocturnal…correct?" I said after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Yes probably, or you might run errands during the day." He commented absently. "You can meet the other workers if you like." Tripp waved me away as he walked back out the door to the club.

I stood there for a minute, mainly wondering what I should do next. I ended up going back to Joe and Alexander's room. I looked at the door for a second before I decided to knock, I hear something tip over and Joe swear before the door flew open.

"Sarah!" Joe boomed, shuffling me into the room. A card table was on its side as eth cards and chips were spilled all across the floor, Alex was now picking them up.

"You answer the door like you haven't seen me in years!" I chuckled; it had only been an hour since I was last here.

"You can never be too sure." Joe cautioned all too seriously for my taste.

"How are you Sarah?" Alexander asked, the last of the cards now cleaned up.

"I'm fine." I replied, moving the table back to its original upright position. "Thanks for helping me back there, with that kid; I wasn't sure what to do."

"It's no problem, he ran the minute Jagger and I set him down."

"Who is Jagger anyway?" I asked, "I haven't seen him before."

"He plays base in my band; he has a tendency of keeping himself scarce.

"Ahhh…" I replied, more to myself then to him. My stomach rumbled and I realized I was hungry.

"Where's the kitchen?"

"Down another hallway, I'll take you to it." Joe answered; he started out the door at a fast pace, making me fast walk and prance to catch up with him.

'What's your talent here?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"Tango." I quipped. "And fan dance." I added.

"Ah, a dancer eh? Where did you learn that trade?"

"School." We didn't really talk after that and when we reached the kitchen Joe didn't stick around. I smiled evilly at the food at my disposal. I raided everything, fridge, freezers and cupboards, throwing all things edible onto a kitchen island in the middle. By the end a giant pile of food was sitting on the counter, just begging to be eaten. Now I knew there was no way I could eat it all, but I would at least get most of the basic food groups covered or at least my definition of food groups anyway. I dove into the pile like a starved coyote and stuffed my face with the easiest thing to reach.

"You're not going to be able to eat all that." I heard someone say behind me, the voice wasn't smooth like Tripp's or Alexander's, but scratchy and rough, like he had a cold. I turned around, cheeks bulging with food, to find a new vampire. He had long black hair down to his shoulders and a wry smile on his face. He eyed me pile of food on the counter, grimaced, then looked back at me, a chuckle escaping his lips. I quickly swallowed what I had been eating and glared at his pale face, which was just as gorgeous as all the other vampires, but somehow different, darker.

"If you're just going to stand there and laugh I would rather you leave." I snapped. My remark didn't faze him as he slowly circled the island towards me, I backed up instinctively.

"I was just attracted to the smell." He breathed in deep and I looked at him in a 'what-the-hell-are-you-doing' sort of glare.

"Whatever, like you said, I'm never going to eat all of that so just take what you want and go." I looked away from him and peeled open a bag of chips. I went to eat one when he grabbed my hand and breathed in at the wrist.

"I'm not interested in freeze dried garbage, how about something fresher." I knew what was about to happen and no way was I going to be bitten again, and no way was my brain going to turn to oatmeal this time. I elbowed him in the stomach with my free hand, but instead of doing him damage like I had intended, my arm reverberated the action like I had just elbowed a brick wall.

"Crap!" I yelled at my now numb and unfeeling arm. I grimaced at his faced and noticed that his eyes were not a normal nice color; they were maroon, or red. A dark dried up blood sort of red. He breathed in from my hair then released my wrist.

"Scared you." He laughed roughly, heading for eth door. "Oh, and my name's Azure."

* * *

hey everyone!

sorry i haven't commented on the story and all of your reviews...i just figured out how to edit my story. sweatdrop I'm new at this. And thanks so much on all of the reviews!! It means a lot to me that people are actually reading this and liking it! so...to your comments...actually...the tattoo in Ch. 3...it actually isn't that dangerous...I've seen people with tattoos on their face before...and besides the fact they say it hurts like a bitch...it's completely safe...(for as far as tattoos go) as for thsi chapter...I'm just going to say this...Azure will never be Sarah's love interest...he is in the story for a reason...but not for that...Tripp on te other hand...may or may not be...I'm not promising anything...and don't use this as a confirmation of it either...'cuz if you are...it's gonna be a slight dissapointment...or maybe it won't? . this is as far as my story will go mature wise, thsi chapter is basically the reason it's rated T...but yeah...I posted this and I was freaking out thinking that I might get reported or something! ugh...but yeah...I'm glad you all like it...Sarah certainly is getting into teh swing of things fast isn't she...but hey, when you are in a club full of vampires, learning fast is survival! I promise to have a Tango in the next chapter. Quote me on that!

Ronnie Sorana


	5. Talent

For the rest of the day I was either reading or straightening up my side of the room, since somehow my clothes were already everywhere and Candi was working. I realized then how hard my dress was to move in. I couldn't even lift my arm a good way above my head, which was not good for tango.

When pink and orange clouds started to dot the sky through the hall windows, I knew my official first day at work was about to begin. I wondered if I would tango tonight.

"Are you almost ready?" Tripp asked through the door frame.

"Yeah." I answered, brushing out my hair again. "What exactly am I doing tonight?"

"Well, it's going to start with a tango, then a fan dance later, and maybe some waitressing in between. Don't worry; you will still have time to get some sleep." I nodded once and walked past him at a brisk pace, quicker then I would have expected he was walking backwards in front of me, grinning widely.

"Your big debut." He whispered as we stood at the backstage area, I gulped as I looked through the side wings at the audience standing on the stage perimeters, I squeaked. This was a new thing for me, besides the possibility of me falling on my face; my sleeves were too tight, I wasn't sure if I could actually go through with this.

"And now a classic tango done by Tripp and our newest addition here at _The Gothic Fusion_ Sarah!" The crowd cheered as Joe walked off the stage and the lights dimmed. When the lights were completely black the crowd went silent and I stood in position, starting to hyperventilate, I didn't think I could do this. Tripp came into my line of sight and place one hand on the small of my back.

"You'll do fine." The lights when up as a red silhouette as we stood completely still, when the hard tango hit the speakers I went into a low swooping dip brought back up as my arm went behind Tripp neck, straining the seams of the sleeves. I grimaced at the sudden stop, as the lights went into one hundred percent. I spun out from him and he pulled me back in hitting his chest with a heavy 'wumph'. He lifted my leg and the knee and I swooped down low, my hand tracing the floor, again, straining the sleeves. I would have to fix this now. When I was pulled back up I pulled his head close to mine.

"Rip my sleeves." I whispered before I was twirled around him in a circle, my dress flowing out. He gave me a puzzled look.

"What?" He asked when I was close enough to him again. He lifted me into the air by my waist as I pulled my torso back, in a ballerina-esque sort of way. Pulling my face close again, I whispered to him again.

"Rip my sleeves, I'll explain later!" He set me down and I wrapped my leg around his so I could sit on the floor. He kneeled behind me and held my shoulders, and then a loud ripping sound filled the stage area. My eyes widened for only a moment before I place my arm behind his neck and giving the audience a smirk, the lights blacked out. The whole place was silent for a second and I thought the whole crowd could hear my beating heart, until they burst into vigorous applause. I fled off the stage at high speed so I wouldn't be obligated to do a curtain call. Immediately I went to one of the mirrors backstage to inspect the damage. The dress actually looked better, the damaged sleeves were hanging down onto my arms, making it off the shoulder, they would definitely need some stitching up, but it was way more comfortable. I smiled happily.

"It suits ya girlie." I heard Joe say from behind me, his hands shoved inside his pockets.

"I like it." Tripp commented, now also behind me. Looking at the mirror again I smiled awkwardly, not sure what to do next. I didn't want to go back to my room and I wasn't sure if I was actually allowed back in the club. So I asked an irrelevant question that had been nagging me.

"I met a vampire earlier, in the kitchen, Azure?"

"Oh him," Tripp began, caught off guard by the change in conversation. "He's just someone around; he does what I need him to do. Like now he's out finding me an employee I've had my eye on." I glared at him.

"You mean like how you _found_ me?" I said icily. He returned my comment with a hard expression.

"I only recruit people who would be better off here, if you had stayed with your parents you would be either at an orphanage or in foster care by now. I was so insistent on getting you a night ago because a neighbor had called you parents in for the drug use, about three hours after we left the police showed up and arrested them." I flinched at his emotionless statement. "Sorry." He mumbled after. I could see my vision blurring as I still stared at him, I couldn't cry now. I pushed my hair back as I covered the movement of whipping my eyes of any moisture. Directing my eyes at my feet instead of his perfect face I let the hard mask disappear.

"I didn't need to know that." I spat at my shoes. I knew it was good that I knew, but I would rather be mad about it then letting my tears overflow, I wasn't the kind of girl who cried. I didn't want to look at him anymore and he knew it, so he also directed his attention away from me and moved to another part of the stage. I walked to the rear of the backstage area to a line of stereotypical make-up mirrors, the kind with light bulbs lining the actual mirror space that outlined every flaw you had on your face. I tried not to look at it too long. At the end of the line one of the tables had something black on it, next to a single red rose. Me being the curious type had to check it out. Picking up the rose I noticed a tag hanging off of it, it didn't say who it was from just my name written in perfect script.

Sarah

Next to it were two closed fans. Examining one of them I slowly flicked it open, they were breathtakingly beautiful but still very plain. The inside was a brilliant white next to the black sides and a stripe of deep rose red was at the top that narrowed out on one side. I closed it again and placed it carefully back on the table. That cheered me up. Tucking the rose behind my ear I walked back into the living quarters again.

During the day, the back was basically dead, since everyone was hiding from the window lit hallways, though apparently it didn't affect them as much as the legends say it did. But now it was bustling with activity. I heard Alexander screaming orders in a mix of both English and my guess French as people with instruments and amplifiers scowled ahead of them, he must have been the next act. Candi walked by then, her face again caked with makeup.

"How'd your first show go?" She asked politely, though I could tell she didn't really care. She had a bright red lollipop in her mouth which was turning her lips an ever brighter shade of red.

"It went fine." I answered with just as much fake sweetness as she had used. "Good luck with yours."

"Thanks but _I'm _not going to need it. Oh, and I like the sleeves, very punk emo, you know?" She smirked as she flipped her hair, bouncing through the door to the club.

"One of these days…" I vowed quietly to myself. Shaking a fist in the direction she had just come from.

As everyone else ran around I tried to stay out of their way, in laymen's terms, I plastered myself to the wall and moved James Bond style until I reached my room. When I did finally make it I belly flopped onto my bed and stared at the plain white ceiling, I made a mental note to paint it one of these days. Now in the heavy silence, I noticed a stream of voices coming into the room but it didn't sound like it was from the hallway? Sitting up on the bed I looked around to find the source. An intercom was sitting on the wall next to the door; I had seen them used before in theatres when I helped backstage at dance recitals and plays. They usually had connections to the light booth and all the backstage areas so people could hear when they would be performing or for light cues. Tripp was talking into it right now and I could hear Alexander setting up on stage. The guitars getting last minute tuning and the amps being turned on. When his act started and the rock music filled the room, I laid on my bed again and closed my eyes, listening.

I must have does off because the next thing I heard was a bunch of men's voices yelling at the stage, then Candi's shrill giggle, I didn't even want to fathom what she could be doing. I sighed and pulled myself off the bed, my will stronger then my conscious mind as I turned the intercom down, saying good-bye to the men in the audience. I turned around and, low and behold, Tripp was sitting on Candi's bed, reading my battered up copy of _Dracula. _

"The person who wrote this was terrible." He looked up at me and flashed that smile of his. "Don't you agree?"

"I don't know…" I admitted. "I've always liked it." Taking it from him I flipped through the old, yellowed pages. I had pulled it out of a book bin at a garage sale when I was fourteen; it was one of my favorites.

"But it's so fake?" He added, puzzled as I put the book back on the shelf.

"That's why they call it fiction, just because vampires actually exist doesn't mean that everything people say about them is true." He replaced his confused face with a small smile.

"Of course." I sat back down on the bed and played with a corner of the comforter.

"So did Azure find anyone?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence after a few seconds.

"Yes, a girl named Tara from Boston; she has quite the singing voice."

"What style?"

"Different." He smirked; I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"That helps." We sat in silence for another long moment before I decided to get up. I walked out of the room back to the stage area. I looked in the mirror to see the damage that sleep had done, the rose was sideways but besides that not much. I adjusted it so it sat straight behind my ear again and picked up one of the fans. Instead of sitting here and doing nothing I decided to check out the real scene of _The Gothic Fusion. _Walking into the club through the black door I flicked the fan open and fluttered it flirtatiously, no harm in that right? As I walked by the vampires' heads turned and sniffed the air, most of them giving me hard looks, like a kid would give a bowl of candy they couldn't eat. Roses, of course. I found one of the couches that was seated under a blue light and I took a seat. I will not sit in darkness at a club filled with vampires, no way in Hell. I flipped the fan closed and I leaned back against the leather, smiling a weird, flirty smile I had never tried before. Maybe the tattoo and makeover high wasn't over just yet. Three vampires noticed me and sauntered over. One had red hair, dark eyes, and a sharp face, like the Japanese comics if you made them human. Another had bright white hair that stuck up in wild directions, his eyes were the same color as Tripp's but they were outlined in a navy blue. He was nothing less than breathtaking, definitely different then any other vampire I had seen so far, he looked like snow. I wondered if his personality was just as cold as his appearance portrayed. The last vampire had dark hair with blue streaks and mahogany colored eyes, but I couldn't take my eyes of the snowy one.

"Hey." He said in a clear tenor voice, making me shiver.

"H…Hi." I stammered. It should be illegal to be dazzled by another creature like I just had. He smiled crookedly and took the place next to me on the couch. I shook out of my delusion somewhat and sat up straight. I pulled my eyes from him and scanned the crowd, looking for something, anything to look at besides him; I noticed that the other vampires were now nowhere to be seen. As I searched, I heard him chuckle.

"What?" I asked, snapping my gaze back to his face.

"You're just so funny." He chuckled again. "You're trying to find a distraction." I could feel my face heating up from being found out so I flicked the fan open and pulled it in front of my face.

"Distraction? Distraction from what?" I lied, trying to keep my voice even and uncaring, not sure if I actually succeeded. I averted my eyes away from him; he was just too dazzling, like Tripp had been in the beginning. He reached for my chin so I had to look at his face.

"From me." Okay…now it was getting a little weird. I flipped my fan closed again and rested it on my right shoulder, giving him a smirk of my own.

"Oh really?" I added with a hint or sarcasm, my stupor before was now almost gone.

"Yes, really." He replied, leaning in so he could whisper in my ear. "I can read minds." I gave him a disbelieving look as he gave me a half-hearted smirk. A wisp of his hair fell perfectly in front of one of his blue eyes and I blushed. What the hell was wrong with me!

A techno beat boomed through the speakers as the strobe light started up again, making me jump.

"Care to dance?" He asked, holding out his hand. I looked at it for a minute then, to my own surprise, took it. He pulled me up off the couch and led me to the floor. He stood facing me as he rested his hands lightly on my hips as I started to sway; he actually kept a good beat. After a few minutes I placed my hands behind his neck and he pulled me closer, my head being near his shoulder.

"By the way, my name's Rez."

"Sarah." I replied, glad to know this boys name. Then something over his shoulder caught my attention; Tripp was standing by the backstage doors opening with a scowl on his face. It took me a minute to realize that it was Rez and I he was staring at.

"Your boss is coming this way," Rez told me, now also looking over his shoulder. "He's really pissed."

"Yeah I noticed." I added. Before I knew it Tripp was standing right behind me.

"Hey Tripp." I said nervously, turning around to face him. His nose was wrinkled in disgust and the scowl was permanently etched in place. Rez was almost the opposite of Tripp, he was calmer then a cucumber, but somehow more frightening.

"Excuse us." Tripp said with a fierce monotone, he took my hand and started to glide through the crowds at a fast pace as I stumbled behind him.

"See you later Sarah!" Rez yelled over the music. I knew I would see him again; I couldn't get rid of him that easily, even if I wanted too.

* * *

YAY! this chapter is finally done! took me about two days to type but this is a good chapter so I hope you like it. and for teh record...Rez...doesn't actually read minds...he was messing with Sarah when he said that. Because Rez is a lot like tripp, but just...actually politer...but not by much...so yeah...comment!

Ronnie Sorana


	6. Problem

"What the hell were you thinking?" Trip yelled, his calm mask (or whatever was left of it anyway) was now completely gone.

"I was bored, he asked me to dance, I danced, problem?" I hinted, a smirk playing at the corners of my mouth.

"No…no problem, he's just weird." I snorted.

"Oh yeah, and working at a night club that serves vampires after being taken from you home because your parents sold you for drug money when they were half coherent isn't weird?"

"But he's weirder." He was now starting to whine.

"Okay yeah whatever, when am I up?" I asked, now getting irritated.

"Next after Alexander." I heard a dinging noise, was that an idea just popping into my head?

"Hey, I've got an idea for the tango."

"What?" He asked irritated, already using the _whatever you're going to ask it's no_ tone.

"Well, what if we can have the audience do the tango with me? We don't have to do it tonight, but later."

"Why would they want to? What would they get out of the bargain?" He asked skepticism apparent in every word.

"Well, if they can out me, or something along that nature, they…hm…get a kiss." I was fairly sure that no one could out do me in the tango, so I had nothing to lose.

Tripp's brow furrowed and his eyes showed conflict.

"Well…" He started reluctantly, shoving his hands into his pockets and avoiding all eye contact. "I guess it would be god for business." A smile showed on my face as he glanced at me. "But you're not starting for a while; we have a lot of crap to set up first." I rolled my eyes and walked away, excuses, excuses.

I decided to read while I waited for my turn after Alex, since everyone else was running around like headless chickens, keeping out of their way would probably be in everyone's best interest. I opened the door and a girl I had never seen before was sitting on my bed, reading my old copy of _'__Dracula__' _with a look of slight anger.

"Hi…" I greeted her, uncertain. She looked up quickly from the book and scowled at me.

"Sorry." She mumbled. Her hair was died black and it was around chin length in the front and spiked in the back. She wore a heavy blue sweatshirt with the Golden Gate Bridge on the front. Her eyes were a hard emerald green that seemed too angry for a normal person. She started to put the book back on the shelf.

"No, it's fine." I smiled again. "I'm Sarah."

"Tara." She mumbled again, hair hanging into her eyes. She studied me for a quick second then her expression became hostile. "Are you one of _them_?" She spat with the same venom I had used when I had first met Tripp two days ago.

"No, I'm not." I laughed nervously, thanking the stars that I wasn't. I now noticed that her sweatshirt was soaking wet, and her jeans had mud rubbed into the knees. "You need to change." I rummaged through my drawers to try and find something for her. She was taller then me and a little bigger then me but she should be able to fit. I finally pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a large shirt and threw it at her.

"You should be warmer in that." She looked at it a minute then she peeled off the sweatshirt to reveal a bite mark on the back of her neck. It was still bleeding a little and was a throbbing red color.

"God, he really got you didn't he?" I stated. She tugged the shirt over her head and turned around.

"Evil bloodsuckers." She swore.

"Come on they aren't that bad." I told her, shaking off her insult.

"Yes, they are…especially the red eyed one."

"You mean Azure? Yeah, he's freaky but not all of-"

"They are _all_ the same." She said darkly, when she finished getting dressed she sat back on the bed and picked back up the book.

"Sarah! Get your ass out here!" Tripp yelled over the speakers, he was pissed, and apparently it was my turn. I sprinted back to the stage area and I saw Tripp pacing.

"Sorry," I panted "I was talking to Tara."

"Get your fans." Tripp stressed, making wild hand gestures towards the tables. I fast walked over to them and found one fan there. Where was my other one? I looked under the tables and around them but it wasn't there.

"Tripp, where's my fan?"

"What?"

"My other fan, I brought it out when I went into the…" gulp "Club." Oh God, I dropped it in the club when Tripp pulled me out of there.

"Do _not_ tell me you dropped it." He whined, rubbing his forehead as if I would disappear if he did. I made a face.

"Fine, then I won't tell you." I flipped my hair at his face as I walked past him; I could do this with one fan, couldn't I? The lights were already dimmed to a blue out when I reached center stage. Snapping the fan closed I rested it on my left shoulder, turning my head to the right and up slightly. The song started out as a techno tune and the beat started to go into an instrumental part. I popped my shoulders with the dominant beats. Bringing my fan into the air with my right hand I flicked it open forcefully, bringing it down slowly in front of my face, weaving my wrists as I went so the white of the fan would flash like a strobe light. My other hand laid imp at my sides with nothing to do. I wish I had my other fan. About a half minute into the song I spotted Rez standing at the front of the stage, my other fan in his hand. I couldn't stop the dance, because if I did I would never get back on beat again so I just smiled, hoping he would leave it there and be gone.

Of course not.

Instead he decided to jump onto the stage and walk straight up to me, I twirled toward him and circled him, my one free hand tracing his shoulders as my face portrayed a sour expression. I held out my hand for the other fan and he smirked, completely ignoring my irritation, he pulled me in loser by the waist.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at him.

"Dancing." He replied, putting my other fan into his back pocket for safe keeping.

"Sorry, but this is is a single person dance." I retorted, trying to move away from him. He took my hand and spun me into a low dip.

"Not anymore." He laughed. He pulled me back to my feet and I sighed heavily. It was too late to protest now. Placing my free hand around his neck I moved my hips from side to side as his hands rested on my waist, steading me so I wouldn't fall over. My fan fluttered in front of my face , covering it from the audience. A smirk played at the corners f his mouth as I looked up through my lashes.

That's when the music stopped.

I let go of Rez and looked off to the wings.

And there Tripp was, with a look of sheer hatred and anger on his usually perfectly composed face.

"Oh crap." I squeaked, voice shooting up a full three octaves. He walked into the stage lights and kept moving forward at a slow, even pace. I backed up a few more.

Then a new beat sounded though the speakers. I hard tango, definite in every note began as Tripp still sauntered closer to center stage, now I realized he was walking to the song.

"No way." I thought, backing up farther toward the other side of the arena, that is, before I ran right into Rez.

"Go away!" I hissed at him, not wanting a premature death. He just grinned and pulled me onto him so I was leaning on him, he held me by the small of my back as he pulled me toward a scowling Tripp. I was _not_ gonna do this. Tripp then grabbed my hand and pulled me hard away from Rez and whirled me to him while I was still on one foot. He pulled that leg up by the knee and placed my hand behind his neck. He then circled me down into a dive and back up so his face way by my ear.

" I told you to stay away from him." He whispered in a monotone as my other foot hit the stage again. Before I could answer him I was lifted by the waist from behind and turned in the air to face a way too happy Rez. I gave him a nasty look and he laughed. I put my hands on his shoulders as he set me down, not after turning in a circle about four times. I just had to wait for him to let go of his grip, but of course he didn't. Tripp then held my chin from behind and twisted my body with it. Rez still didn't let go a Tripp and I started doing a two step back and forth, still holding my chin. Rez's grip loosened from my waist and I took the small opportunity to wretch my chin away from Tripp, go under Rez's arms and jump off the stage through the crowd and out the double doors, leaving the two of them there while the music finished.

* * *

I am SO sorry this took so long!!! i got a laptop for Christmas and it took me forever to learn how the new word worked...computers hate me. And then I couldn't find where the folder was with the rest of my story so then I freaked because I thought I had lost it. Then I started plays and I had NO time...but yeah...it is now done! this was a really long chapter so it took me forever to type up. SORRY! But yeah...the double tango was so much fun to write! i hope you all like it. 

Ronnie Sorana


	7. New Addition

The lights were dim as I ran into the street filled with stop and go traffic . One of the cars decided to move up and hit my thigh as I ran past, making me fall into the back of the car in front. I glared at the teenager in the front seat and dug my heel into his hood before I kept going. I found a small park a few blocks down from the club, I sat on a set of swings and twisted the chain. I knew I would have to go back eventually, but not right now. If I went back right now I would have to listen to Tripp lecture me. The swing was cold and the wet snow went up to my ankles. I had forgotten it was January when I ran out of the cub in nothing but a pair of high heels and a little black dress.

A melody played on a violin swayed through the air as I twisted to it, getting caught up in the tune. A shadow passed through the corner of my eye I looked up quickly, Alexander was standing under the street lamp, his face half shrouded in darkness. I went to call to him when I realized he was talking to someone, the violin player. I couldn't see her face, but she looked young. I tried to listen to him but he was talking in a language I didn't understand. She listened as the notes still drifted through the air, then they abruptly stopped and she started to back away. Soon she was yelling at him, my guess telling him to go away. Wait, I knew what was going on, he was trying to bring her to the Gothic Fusion, just like Tripp with me. Alex moved at the lightning speed and she stopped, dropping her violin with a loud clatter on the icy pavement. Lowering his head to her neck he blended with shadow, I could have guessed what he was doing. Three seconds later she crumpled, falling towards the unforgiving pavement until he caught her and walked back down the way he had come.

What had just happened? I know the same thing had happened to me but it was unbelievable to watch it happen to someone else. I wasn't sure how exactly to respond. Follow them or act like I hadn't seen anything. I decided to stay on my stupid swing and wait, that way I wouldn't have to get up.

Five minutes later I still hadn't moved, not knowing if I even could if I wanted to, my teeth were chattering and my feet were frozen in the snow.

"Sarah…" I heard a familiar voice sigh. Slowly lifting my gaze I saw Tripp standing in front of me, shaking his head.

"W…what?" I chattered, trying to make the word come out harsh, but instead it came out like a three part mumble, and the word has two syllables.

"Come on, if you stay here any longer you'll freeze to death."

"N…no." I pouted. He chuckled lightly and walked slowly to me.

"If you stay here, another vampire will come and get you." He said, looking down at my legs. Following his stare I realized my leg was bleeding from where the car hit me.

I glared at him as I shivered my answer. "F…f…fine." I went to get up, but my body wouldn't cooperate. "I…th….think I…I n…need to b…be welded….off." I was so cold I could barely talk. Tripp laughed and detatched my hands from the cold metal chains, my arms fell limply to my sides. He took the black leather jacket he was wearing and draped it around my shoulders. It was still cold, but I 

wrapped it around my completely, happy for the extra layer. I stood up but my legs turned to pudding underneath my weight and I fell backwards, Tripp caught me just before I hit the snow.

"You are so human." He stated, picking me up into the much to prissy princess hold and heading down the sidewalk. His jaw clenched and his eyes were glazed over, he was trying really hard to keep his head as far away from me as he could.

"What!" I snapped, wondering what I had done wrong.

"Your scent, it's driving me nuts." He snapped right back.

"I can walk if it's bothering you too much!" I didn't like being carried anyway.

"then you get more blood to your leg, even worse." I made a noise of disagreement and let him take me wherever he was going, which happened to be a drug store. He sat me on one of the benches outside and held his finger up to me.

"Stay." He commanded, walking through the double doors.

"Where am I gonna go!" I yelled into the snowy night, I could swear I heard him laughing. I sat there and twiddled my thumbs for about five minutes until he glided back out . Handing me the plastic bag he sat next to me, looking the other way. I rummaged through the bag and discovered he had bought an antiseptic and a role of gauze. I had never used the brand of antiseptic before so I had no idea how exactly to use it.

"Why didn't you buy some normal stuff like hydrogen peroxide." I mumbled

"Why? Need help?" He teased, his eyes smoldering. I blushed, unfair play.

"Maybe I do." I retorted, handing him the bottle. Now it was his turn to freak. He clenched his jaw and held his breath as he poured the liquid onto my leg.

"Ow!" I yelled, my leg twitching. Maybe having a vampire who thought I smelled appetizing clean my bleeding wound wasn't, and still isn't, the best idea, but since when have I been prone to good ideas?

"Sorry, but yeah, it's going to sting." He snapped, breathing shallowly. WE left the evil antiseptic on my leg for a few seconds then we started wrapping the gauze around it.

"There." He muttered after he finished. Standing up, I realized that my leg felt a lot better, though putting my weight on it still hurt. It was time to head back to the club. We stared to walk at an excrutiatingly slow pace, most of my weight on Tripp. By the time we reached around ten yards, he had a 'bad idea' smirk on his face.

"Want to go a little faster?" He asked, excitement eminent in every word.

"Why?" I asked skeptically, not sure I liked the sound this.



"Oh, you'll see." He kneeled down with his back facing me., his hands ready to hold me to him.

"What are you doing?"

"Hop on!" He ordered happily. I limped to him and he pulled me onto his back. I held him in a choke hold and looked at him skeptically. He adjusted so I wouldn't fall off before he sprinted off at seventy miles per hour through New York City.

Imagine being in a high powered convertible going down the Eurpoean autobon and you'll know what it's like to ride on a vampires back through New York, really damn scary. Now imagine those speeds while whizzing past people, cars, and other random objects just waiting to knock your head off. Even worse right? Yeah, I thought so. In around thirty seconds we were at the front doors of the Gothic Fusion.

"Now how was that?" He smirked. I detached my hands and feet and slid off of him. I waited for my rain to catch up with my body.

"That…was…Awesome!" I yelled wondering why exactly I felt that way. Oh, there's my brain. "It was like a roller coaster or something, so scary but so cool!" As I talked my hands moved in wild spastic movements from the adrenaline rush.

"Gad you liked that." He chuckled, leaning against the doors to push them open. "For a second there I thought you were going to throw up."

I chuckled lightly. "Me? Puke? No way." I flipped my hair into his face and tried to make a graceful entrance, but failing miserably because of the gauze, so I would have to settle with limping in.


	8. Deja Vu

It turned out that our newest edition was a fourteen year old runaway named Claire, she too, was French like Alexander and she seemed to cling to him like a safety blanket. Which I found a little odd since he was the one who brought her here in the first place.

"So, her talent is the violin?" I asked Tripp the next afternoon as we sat in the kitchen, I was at the moment, scarfing down a big bowl of soup, I wasn't exactly sure what kind I never checked. All I knew was that it was tomatoey. I wasn't wearing my costume dress, for some odd reason it wasn't even where I had left it yesterday. I was now comfortably and happily wearing a giant neon purple sweatshirt and a pair of jeans with giant gaping holes in the knees.

"Mhm." Tripp replied, concentrating fully on his steaming hot cup of coffee, apparently vampires ate real food too.

"But, her violin busted when it hit the ground yesterday, no way will that thing still play." Now there's another thing, by now, everyone knew that I was n the park with Alex and Claire last night/ Alex had known I was there the whole time, but he pretended he didn't know just to humor me, trust me, I was not amused.

"We're getting her a new one, nicer than that old thing she had." I thought about retaliating to that, but after running into the snow and making him fix my leg last night I decided he probably had about enough arguing from me for a while, so I filled my mouth with food before it had the chance to say anything stupid. That was when Alex, followed by Claire, came into the kitchen. They were quietly speaking in French as he motioned to the fridge and cupboards. I guessed that he was trying to get her to eat something.

"Non." She kept replying, shaking her head. She was seriously in terrible shape. She had long brown hair that was so tangled and knotted and covered with leaves that she would have to cut most of it off to actually run a brush through it. She had bruised knees and elbows that probably came from living on the streets, and her once fine red dress was now an almost brown color and one sleeve was missing completely.

What she needed was a girls help.

I left my almost finished soup and bent down to her, since she was no more than five feet tall.

"Would you like to stay with me today?" I smiled, her face looked uncertain, though I couldn't see her eyes to well behind the hair curtain. She looked up at Alex for permission and he nodded at her. Claire then promptly detached from his arm and immediately attached to mine, looking down at her feet. I steered her out the door and back into the hallway towards my room, where, for once during my stay here, I actually hoped Candi would bet there.

Of course she wasn't.

Sighing, I pried Claire from my arm and sat her onto my bed. I then fished through my drawers to find her something to wear that didn't look like it had come from a dumpster.



"Here" I said, finally finding another giant sweatshirt and a pair or grey PJ pants. "That should be warmer than what you have on." Claire nodded and changed into the comfier clothes, they were way too long on her mere five foot body compared to my five feet five inches.

"Thank you." She said, smiling for the first time since I had seen her. Now to the hard part, her hair was nothing less than a catastrophe; I had my work cut out for me. I tried pulling a brush through it and it wouldn't even consider going past her chin.

"Uh, Claire?" I asked as I tried one more time to detangle her rat's nest of hair.

"Yes?"

"We're gonna have to cut this." Claire nodded slowly.

"If you think it is for the best." I smiled apologetically and started shuffling through Candi's drawers, finally finding a pair of scissors. I jumped back onto my bed and readied the scissors.

"Ready?" I asked, holding all of her hair in one hand and readying the scissors in the other.

"Ready." And then…

"WAIT!"

"What!" snip.

"Oh my god, damn it Sarah!" Candi was at the door, one hand out stretched at me and an expression of sheer horror on her overly done face.

"What!" I yelled back at her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I finally noticed the blob of hair in my left hand and quickly hid it behind me back, about a minute to late to actually still be effective.

"Nothing'" Candi made a face at me.

"You could have fixed those knots with conditioner you idiot." She hurried over to us like a flustered hen to examine my damage to Claire's head.

"He he…oops." "Psh! Yeah oops! God." Claire's hair was now at chin level, completely ruined because I couldn't come up with a better solution then to just get rid of the problematic hair, well, think on the bright side, the knots were gone! But Claire just sat there silently, a tiny smile playing on her lips. She apparently didn't care very much that I had just chopped off most of her hair.

Candi held out her hand

"Give me the scissors" She sighed, not even looking at me, reluctantly and with a very sour expression, I handed them over.



And her hands were flying. How she could possibly cut that fast and not kill Claire in the process I will never know. But after thirty minutes of high speed scissor movements as I sat and read it was done.

"That looks great!" I cried as I ran my fingers through Claire's hair. Now it was no longer than three inches long at most, just long enough to hang in her brown eyes.

"Thank you." Claire murmured, starting to stand up. Candi pushed her back down by the shoulders.

"Hold on new girl, you are _not_ leaving just yet." Then Candi put her through the makeup make-over, which took another thirty minutes from our lives. Then we were able to high tail it out of there.

"I feel odd." She said after we were well out of earshot.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I do not feel like me, I feel, different. _l'obtenez-vous?_ Like I could do anything?"

"Well, I have no idea what obtene-whatever means, but that feeling is called confidence. Something that a lot of people don't have a lot of." Wow, that was philosophical.

Then I was pulled into a rib crushing bear hug.

"Sarah! How are ya kid!"

"I'm good Joe but can I breathe please!" I wheezed.

"oh, sorry." Ahhh…sweet air! Then I realized Claire was cowering against the wall, completely clueless to what was going on.

"Oh, Joe…" I pushed her forward. "This is Claire."

"Hiya Claire! You sure are a tiny thing." He then proceeded to laugh invigoroulsy…and by invigorously I mean ear-bustlingly loud. Claire cringed back against the wall and looked like she wanted to dig a hole to bury herself in.

"Joe!" I whispered cautiously, showing him he had to be a little bit quieter around Claire.

"Oh, I get it Sarah baby, now sweetie would you like a tattoo?" okay, sweetie and tattoo did not go well together in the same sentence.

"No way Joe, she's only like what…twelve?"

"Fourteen."

"Fourteen? Fourteen, Joe. I don't care about tradition." I went to push him the other way down the hall but he was a giant human rock.



"Aw come on girl, nobody can turn on tradition." He then promptly hoisted Claire onto one shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Claire squeaked like a cornered kitten.

"Help me!" She pleaded at me, her little hand grasping empty air.

"Joe! Put the girl down! What did she ever do to deserve this?" I moaned. When it came to stubbornness, he was as bad as any vampire. He carried her to his and Alex's room and sat Claire gently down in his chair of death. He put is weight on the arm chairs and got really close to her very frightened face.

"So Claire, question of the day what'll it be!" I slumped in the doorway and propped my head in my hand.

"Come on Joe, she's scared shitless, leave her alone."

"I would like a dragonfly, on my collar bone please." Wait, what?

"You got it girl, now, what colors?" He pulled out a big chart of different shades of every color in the rainbow. By then I was already up next to them and I saw her pick some shades of purple and lavender and a few different turquoise blues. She pulled down her shirt collar to uncover her collarbone and I held her hand as he started up the needle gun, I was surprised by how well she took the pain. I mean, I didn't scream out loud but I definitely cringed and tried not to punch someone, but Claire's face was a straight faced mask, no emotion what so ever. I wondered if the streets had made her so tough.

It didn't take him very long to finish the design, around an hour later she was looking at eth beautiful iridescent looking dragonfly through a hand mirror.

"Claire…it's amazing." I breathed. "I didn't know you could do stuff like that Joe, did you go to art school or something?"

"No, I just always liked drawin' and this seemed like a good way to make people happy." He chuckled as he tapped a bandage over the delicate insect so it wouldn't bleed.

"Merci Joe, you are not the monster giant I thought you would be. I hope to see you again." Joe frowned then smiled at her, rustling her hair with his hand.

"I'm not sure whether that was a compliment or an insult but thanks either way sweetie."

"Well now that the love has been thoroughly spread to the point of wanting to puke, we should now head out." I grabbed Claire's hand and pulled her towards the hallway where I almost ran into Tripp standing in the doorframe.

"Oh! I was just looking for you guys." He stated, taken aback a little. "I want to show you something Claire." He beckoned with his fingers for us to follow him down the very empty hallway. We followed about three steps behind him until we reached an open bedroom door. Tara was sitting on the far bed, drawing something in a notebook with a charcoal pencil. When we reached the doorframe she physically tensed and her head whipped around to face us, a look of fear clearly visible on her face, then it quickly turned to anger when she met Tripp's gaze.



"Oh, then I'm leaving." She clapped the book shut sharply and walked briskly out the door, giving me a small smile on her way out. Maybe she wasn't as hopeless as she appeared to be. Tripp didn't show an inch of recognition towards her when he stepped through the doorframe and into the half occupied room. The other bed was unmade like mine had been when I first came to the Gothic Fusion, a light blue dress laid over a wicker chair in the corner I couldn't see the way it laid very well, but the bottom was cut at an angle the bottom at the knee. The sleeves looked gathered and they were a darker blue. Tripp pulled a black case from behind the door and laid it carefully on the bed. I could tell by the shape that it was a violin case; Claire took in a gasp of air.

"Go ahead and open it." He told her, stepping back from it. She then moved forward into his place, she unclipped the case, hands shaking slightly. I could immediately see the lavender purple velvet lining.

"Oh! Tres belle!" She exclaimed as she pulled out the beautiful violin. It was made of a light colored wood, like cedar or a white oak; a marsh scene was wood burned into the side of the instrument. I could see cattails playing in the wind and dragonflies hovering through the reeds. I glanced at Claire and I saw silent tears falling down her face, but her expression was still very solemn. She pulled the bow out and tightened the horsehair on it.

"Is it tuned?" She asked Tripp. He had a small, glowing smile on his face as he started to back up towards the door.

"Ready to play when you are." He replied, leaving the room. She plucked the strings first, then ran the bow smoothly against them, I didn't know the tune, but I knew that it was something that meant a lot to her, as she played she closed her eyes and a serene look replaced the solemn expression. I could feel the emotions flowing through the song, so I laid face up on the bed and closed my own eyes, and instead of seeing blackness, I followed the path of a bright turquoise damsel fly as it flew through cattails dancing in the wind.


	9. Visitor

"Tripp! Get in here quick!" I yelled, finding my dress lying on my bed later that evening, now sporting two red stain sleeves.

"What!" He asked breathlessly, obviously wondering what could have made me yell for him.

"Thank you! I love it!" I told him, twirling the dress as I ballroom danced around the room, with myself of course. He clutched a hand to his heart.

"God Sarah, don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack." He snapped, slumping slightly against the doorframe.

"What? It got you here fast didn't it?" I chuckled and pushed him out the door.

"Yeah, whatever." I changed quickly, not wanting to still be here when Candi came back. I heard something knock on my window. I pulled back the curtains to find a widely grinning Rez on the other side of the glass; he motioned to the lock so I would open it. This could be fun.

"What?" I mouthed, shrugging stupidly. He motioned again, I tapped the lock twice. "Say please." I mouthed through a giggle.

"Open the window Sarah." He yelled so I could hear his muffled voice.

"Open the what?" His eyes narrowed humorously.

"Ha ha very funny, now open the window." I slid it open slowly, painfully slowly; he shoved it all the way open once his patience had run thin.

"Want to go out tonight?" I blinked twice.

"What?" I blurted, that was a new question, he said it slower.

"Do you want to go out with me tonight?"

"And do what?"

"Walk, movie, food. I won't care whatever, please?" He whined.

"But I have a performance."

"Skip it." He grinned.

"But-"

"Pwease?" He pouted, quivering his lower lip in a pitiful display. I laughed.

"You suck at that." I critiqued.

"Then you teach me how." He challenged, tempting, very tempting.

"Um…" I looked at the door. "Alright just wait a minute; I need to leave a note or something so Tripp won't completely flip out. I quickly ripped put a blank page in the back of a book and wrote a quick note on it and stuck it to the side of my mirror. I hoped he wouldn't be too mad. I grabbed my street shoes and jumped out the window, with a little help from Rez.

"What's wrong with your leg?" I groaned.

"Something about a car, I'll tell you later."

"Fine, let's put some distance between here so that Tripp doesn't catch you so easily." He grabbed my hand and pulled me along at a jog. Well, he was jogging; I was running to catch up. "Too fast?" He chuckled, turning around and jogging backwards.

"No of course not. I'm only human, instead of a super human vampire, but yeah, I can catch up." I panted, talking sarcastically. He slowed to a walk so I could breathe in the icy air, painful to my lungs. Once again, I realized I was in my stupid black dress in the snow, I shivered once.

"Oops, should have told you to change first, here." He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around my shoulders; I hugged it closer, just like Tripp's it was cold even though he had been wearing it. We walked in silence for a few minutes until the question I had been mulling over finally popped to the surface.

"What's it like?" I asked finally.

"What's what like?" He kept walking. I toyed with the button on his coats sleeve.

"Being a vampire." He stopped then and looked at my small form, his face almost expressionless in thought before he shrugged.

"I don't know." He said simply before continuing. "I haven't actually _been_ one for very long. Okay I guess, sort of like being human only…it lasts forever."

"Well, how long have you been a vampire?"

"Since 1984." He answered frankly. So he must be around his forties if he looked around eighteen or twenty, that's if my math isn't as bad as it usually was. But another question bubbled out of my mouth.

"How do you turn into a vampire? I mean, obviously it's not being bitten because…" I pointed to my neck and laughed. "If that was all there was to it I would have fangs right now." He sighed heavily then sat gracefully on the slightly damp sidewalk, patting his lap, looking up at me.

"What are you lookin' at me for?" I grimaced.

"You don't want to get your dress wet, and with those heels, you're going to get tired really quick." He repeated the patting motion.

"The last time I sat on a vampire's lap I was the days special." He sighed exasperated and shook his head, white hair falling into icy blue eyes.

"I won't do that, I promise." He flashed a warm, sincere smile. Ugh, I hate that smile. I gingerly sat onto his open lap, his arms encircling my waist. It was awkward, and I wanted off.

"So." He began, sounding like an old man reminiscing his childhood. "How I became a vampire? Well, it's a complicated process." He breathed in deeply before he truly began. "When a vampire drinks your blood, as you already know it doesn't turn you, the vampire has to contribute also, by allowing the human to drink their blood, exchanging it."

"That doesn't sound so complicated." I said, bored with the explanation. I Stood up off of him and hiked my dress back down, smoothing it out.

"Maybe it isn't, but no matter how complicated it actually is, it seems really weird and surreal while it's happening."

"That's because it is surreal and weird, you're not living, and yet you run around acting as if you were." I scoffed.

"Who said we weren't living?" He seemed almost offended.

"What?"

"Vampire is not an undead thing, we live, hasn't somebody told you this already? 'Vampire' is a species, sure we can change people into us but we can reproduce also, not that it's easy, but it can happen."

"Well," I blinked. "That's new."

"Yeah, Stoker was a little off, here listen." He pulled me by the hand back down until I was on my knees; my head held to his chest, sure enough, the steady heartbeat was like a drum in his chest. "See?" He murmured softly. "I'm here." I pulled myself from him and continued to walk down the alleyway, oddly empty at this time on night.

"So you live, but you don't age." I clarified, kicking a can. "If you live, do you die?"

"Now, that's were the curse part of it comes in." He was now walking just behind me. "We live forever, now imagine everyone you've ever known, ever loved, die, while you live on." I turned around to face him, looking him in the eyes; sadness filled them so I dropped my gaze.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I whispered, studying my shoes.

"And the only way we truly die is extremely painful." He didn't explain, leaving me wondering. A few seconds later, I asked myself.

"How do you die?"

"Burnt Alive." I pulled myself onto the low brick wall and looked at him, eye to eye.

"You weren't kidding."

"Yeah, I know." He stood in front of me, placing his elbows next to me. "I'm surprised Tripp hasn't told you this." I rolled my eyes.

"Tripp doesn't tell me much of anything."

"Typical." He scoffed.

"You don't like him much do you."

"Why do you say that?" He asked, caught off guard by my question.

"Well, you remember that chick in the middle of that tango from Hell two days back? Yeah, that was me." I retorted, slightly sarcastic.

"Oh well, what does he say about me?"

"He said you were weird and that I shouldn't talk to you." I stated, bluntly and word for word.

"Maybe he was right."

"What?" That sounded like a weird reply.

"I am weird." He smiled, flashing his pearly whites. I shook my head.

"Yeah sure you are, now move so I can get back home before Tripp ends up strangling me."

"Make me." he teased, eyes gleaming.

"Okay, like how?" He made kissy faces at me, I made a face. "No thanks, I'm cool." I started walking on the wall, my arms spread out like a tightrope walker, Rez following next to me on the ground.

"So do you like it here better than your own home?" He asked out of the blue.

I mulled the question over for a minute. "Yeah, I guess so, I mean…It's definitely better than being with my parents in the neighborhood we were at, I kind of miss them, just because they were my parents, but no, I can't say I miss it."

"So you're saying you enjoy living in a club filled with vampires just waiting to sink their teeth into you?"

"I actually do, vampires definitely aren't evil like in the books, they're interesting, but they still have their own bad characteristics." I looked at him, a light glare on my face. "Like jealousy, possessiveness, greed, flirtatiousness."

"Got to love it hun." He helped me off of the wall and I hit the pavement.

"I don't have to do anything." I protested.

"Besides work at the club." He mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I could leave anytime I want, but as I said, I like it there."

"With the vampires."

"God! Why do you completely dismiss that thought? Yes with the vampires!" I spat.

"Because I am one and I don't like most of them."

"Well then that's your problem." I said before walking down the road, seething just the littlest bit. How dare he question the way I live? Stupid vampire.

"You hate me don't you." He stated sadly, pathetically. He was still farther behind me. I sighed, exasperated.

"I don't hate you; you just irritate the hell out of me." I didn't turn to face him, because I knew by the tone of his voice I would melt if I looked at him.

"I'm sorry I irritate you."

"Don't apologize, just stop doing it." I started walking again until I heard him running, noisily, to catch up.

"Where are you going?" He asked, now walking backwards in front of me.

"Back to the club, like I told you." I didn't slow down but he stopped, me bumping into him.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want Tripp biting my head off now Move!" I dodged around him and jogged down the alley, until I tripped over something and skidded on my hands for about a foot.

"Ow, just my luck." I pulled into a sitting position to examine the damage. My already gauzed leg now had a new addition to the mess; my knee was now bleeding too, the rough stones doing a number on it, along with me hands. Rez was at my side in an instant.

"Oh god are you…" He stopped speaking and inhaled deeply. "mmm." Oh crap.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I stated cautiously, scooting over a little bit. His eyes popped back open and his gaze kept moving from my face, to my hands, to my knee, then back again.

"Hey!" I yelled. "My face is here, look at it, not hold your breath and help me up" I added please as an afterthought. He did as I asked but his eyes were still locked on my hand, which was now a foot away from his face.

"You really do smell like roses." Alright, that was my last straw. I started walking away until I was jerked back; he still held onto my hand, he slowly pulled it up to his mouth.

"Rez….what are you doing?" Then he licked it, and no, I don't mean he fed on it, he just stuck his tongue out and liked it like a Doberman.

"EW! Gross!" I pulled my hand away and wiped it in my dress, doing the up and down 'that was nasty' dance, shaking my hands in front of me. "That's disgusting!"

"No, it's delicious."

"Ugh!" I turned on my heels and stormed off of the road like Hell's fury.

"Now I'm going home, and if you follow me I will personally see to your painful and immediate death!" My last words before leaving him in the dust.

* * *

hey sorry it took me forever to upload... I'm trying to get this story to a publisher but it's taking me a while to actually do it. I wasn't going to upload until I sent it in..but since it's taking longer... I'm gonna upload it now. hope you like it!!

~Ronnie


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